Renya stopped what he was doing and walked toward Koharu Utatane.
As he approached, he saw Koharu pointing at a corpse in the pit.
"Renya-kun, is this person from your Uchiha clan?"
Renya instinctively looked at the corpse—though to call it a corpse was generous, as it was already a skeleton.
The ribs at the chest were broken. Clearly, this person had died from a stab wound to the heart.
Most of the black robe covering the body had decayed beyond recognition, but Renya's eyes still caught the unmistakable Uchiha clan crest.
There was no doubt—this was a Uchiha who had fallen in the Warring States period.
Faced with Koharu's question, Renya nodded and jumped into the grave.
Seeing this, Koharu moved aside on her own.
Although their teacher had ordered them to retrieve the bodies of the dead, since they had dug up someone from Renya's own clan, it was only right to leave the final decision to him...
But Renya wasn't thinking about any of that. His thoughts were simple:
He wanted to loot the corpse and see if he could find anything valuable.
He noticed the skeleton slumped at the bottom of the pit, and the robe around its abdomen was clearly bulging—there was something hidden inside.
Without hesitation, Renya reached out toward the corpse's abdomen.
Pulling aside the robe, a scroll came into view.
"Renya-kun, is that a storage scroll?" Koharu leaned in.
Renya held the scroll in his hand.
"Yeah. There's a sealing barrier on it. Can you open it?"
As he spoke, he turned to look at Koharu.
Storage scrolls were crafted using sealing techniques.
Typically, to prevent others from freely accessing the contents, the user would place a sealing barrier on them.
Usually, only the original user or someone well-versed in sealing arts could break it.
Renya knew nothing about sealing jutsu, so naturally, he couldn't open the scroll.
But if he remembered correctly, Koharu did know a bit of sealing...
"I'll give it a try." Koharu took the scroll and began working on the barrier.
Renya watched silently, somewhat hopeful.
What could be inside?
After many attempts, Koharu still couldn't break the seal.
She gave a bitter smile and handed the scroll back to Renya.
"Sorry, Renya-kun, I can't open this one."
Renya wasn't too disappointed. Koharu wasn't a professional sealing master, so it was perfectly normal that she couldn't break open a scroll that had likely belonged to a Jōnin.
If just anyone could open it, what would be the point of putting a seal on it?
At worst, he could ask Senju Tobirama to open it for him later. With that old guy's skill, unlocking a scroll like this would only take a minute.
He took the scroll back with a smile.
"It's fine, Koharu."
With that, he climbed out of the grave and returned to the half-dug burial site he'd been working on earlier, swinging his shovel once more.
Koharu watched Renya get back to work, her lips parting slightly as if she wanted to say something.
She'd been about to ask if Renya was okay with them taking the Uchiha remains.
But seeing how hard he was digging, she dropped the idea.
If Renya didn't say anything, that meant he approved.
Thinking this, Koharu reached down and snapped off a few ribs, then began filling the grave back in.
Focused on grave-robbing, Renya didn't notice Koharu's actions. Even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.
Tobirama had sent them to collect the remains of powerful shinobi. Danzo and Koharu might not know the real reason—but he did.
It was obviously to use Edo Tensei and summon these powerful figures.
Renya didn't mind at all. In fact, he rather supported Tobirama's idea.
Although the technique[Edo Tensei]was somewhat unethical, on the battlefield it was practically like having an army of immortal soldiers.
Just look at the Fourth Great Ninja War.
With this kind of power, wars could be ended quickly.
The only question was whether Tobirama would actually use the technique in war.
But if he remembered the original story correctly, he never did…
That little interlude made Renya realize something: grave-robbing had another unexpected benefit—he could collect the "burial gifts" of the deceased.
Like this storage scroll...
Renya considered it[A Gift from a Senior!]
With that thought, he began digging faster.
Before long, he found the body at the bottom of the pit—but it was disappointing.
There was nothing on the corpse. Just a rusty broken sword lying beside it.
Renya clicked his tongue.
"This guy was dirt poor."
He picked a few bones off the skeleton and moved on.
...
By dawn, Renya still hadn't found anything worthwhile.
The storage scroll he carried was already full of bones.
"They really cleaned the battlefield well, huh..."
Before burying the corpses, the victors of a battle would definitely comb through the area and collect the spoils.
But this was a bit too clean.
Still, one thing did comfort him—at least a senior of the Uchiha clan had left him a little present.
That's the legacy of a great clan...
Renya glanced at his two companions still digging.
"We should get going."
Hearing this, the two stopped what they were doing.
The three gathered their things and quietly slipped away from the mass grave.
...
The Hokage's office, windows and doors shut tight.
The three placed a storage scroll on the desk.
"Er, sensei, we've completed the mission you gave us."
Senju Tobirama gave a small nod.
"Not bad. Thank you for your work."
As he spoke, he casually took the scroll and put it away.
"Sensei, it was our duty!" Danzo replied earnestly.
Renya shot Danzo a look of disdain.
Seriously, how could this guy be such a bootlicker?
No wonder he eventually inherited the will of their teacher and turned against the Uchiha.
"Danzo, good work," Tobirama said, clearly pleased with his respectful attitude.
Who wouldn't like a student like this?
Besides, the task they'd just done wasn't exactly noble, so a little praise was warranted.
Danzo didn't pick up on any of the nuance. All he knew was—
The teacher had told him "good work!"
He was overwhelmed, his face flushed with excitement.
"Sensei, thank you for your concern!"
More importantly, the teacher had only said that to him!
Did that mean the teacher favored him the most?
Yes, he must be the teacher's most prized disciple!
Caught up in his own joy, Danzo didn't notice the looks of contempt from his two teammates.
What the hell was this guy so excited about?
It's not like Tobirama gave them a reward.
This whole trip was basically unpaid labor...
Tobirama turned his gaze to Renya and Koharu.
"You two did well too."
"Sensei, you're too kind," Koharu replied with a smile.
"Spare us the pleasantries," Renya muttered, tossing another scroll onto the desk.
"I found this at the graveyard. It's sealed—I can't open it."
Seeing Renya's casual motion, the veins on Tobirama's forehead twitched.
This brat was getting more and more disrespectful.
All because he hadn't let him take on missions?
Was that any reason to act like this?
And in front of others, too...
"Open the seal for me. And cancel the order at the mission desk. We've got jobs to pick up."
Senju Tobirama: "…"
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